Out came the training knives and we worked on some parrying that lead to some work using a short cudgel or kippen for the Irish stick fighter types. Mostly defending against knife attacks but in a very universal way…we were able to switch weapons on both the attacker and defender and still do the work.

We also covered some of the basics for our short stick work based on the Footpad and the Cane article from the 1905 article.

2 rounds shadow boxing
2 round focus pads
We kept our session focused this time around on angles of punching and triangle points. Triangle points are the points directly in front of your feet and behind. Imagine standing square, now draw a triangle with your two feet being the base. The triangle points move when you step or stand different ways, it is not a static concept.

Our work today found us working to get an angle of attack that lets us strike against our opponent and send them towards their rear triangle point knocking them down. We did this by footwork, punching and kicking combinations that let us step to the angle against both orthodox and southpaws without being obvious. When the angle was perfect each strike knocked you onto your heels, even if you managed to cover…this is something we will work on during our sparring rounds in the weeks to come.